Recommended Reading

The claim is often made that the world and the things in the world are off limits to Christians; that the best way to live the Christian life is not to get involved in “the world.” Holiness is defined as an escape from this world, if not physically through some cataclysmic eschatological event like a rapture, then certainly by being separated from the affairs of this world by an unwillingness to acknowledge that God has made us stewards of His good creation of which one day He will demand an accounting (Matt. 25:14-30). In the topsy-turvy world of modern theology, we become winners by losing, and we often do our best to inform the world that we are no threat to their worldview.

Instead of following the directive of Abraham Kuyper who said “there is not one inch of creation of which Christ doesn’t say ‘Mine,'” we often choose, “there is not one inch of creation of which Satan doesn’t say ‘Mine.'” Does the Incarnation really make a difference this side of the grave? Other than “personal salvation,” many Christians do not believe it does. Historically, the church did not divide the world into two opposing realms, consisting of sacred/secular, spiritual/ material. More importantly, the Bible does not divide the world this way. The Bible is concerned about the distinction between good and evil, right and wrong, moral and immoral wherever such distinctions can be made.